Abstract: Native Hawaiians harnessed the natural activity of coastal ecosystems by engineering fishponds that promoted primary productivity to cultivate herbivorous fish. Because the success of fishponds rests on the productivity of algae and photosynthetic microbes, understanding how microbial abundance, diversity, and composition change across time and space – especially in response to climatic anomalies and restoration efforts – is critical to inform current management practices. Here we use comparative phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene data to characterize microbial diversity in the context of the geochemical environment to provide significant insight into 1) the environmental drivers of naturally occurring microbial variability, as well as 2) the science encoded in traditional Hawaiian stories. This research provides a data-rich context to support and innovate Native Hawaiian methodologies for restoring fishponds.

Dr. Kiana Frank, native of Kailua, Oahu, is an Assistant Professor in Pacific Biosciences Research Center at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa whose research is focused on understanding how microbes interact with the environment and influence the functionality, health and sustainability of Hawaii’s land and ocean resources.